Tiny bit of background, I'm 25, 6"2, have had hydrocephalus since my birth in 1989. First shunt put in in 1989, failed in 2006. They put a new shunt in on the opposite side of my head (which is much narrower and less obvious, shunt technology must have improved a lot in 17 years!) - but they left the old, defunct one from my infancy where it was. My neuro explained that he didn't feel comfortable messing with it since it was so deeply embedded, I've grown a lot since then etc. Fair enough.
Here's the problem though: I've been getting quite strong lately and building a lot of muscle around my pecs. This is causing no problems whatsoever with the new shunt, as it seems much more flexible and long than the original one - I can barely feel it even when lying on that side. However, the original shunt is a different story - It's
very tight. If I lie on my side with the new shunt on the "down" side of my body, the natural squeezing together of my pecs puts an incredibly uncomfortable (not quite painful, but borderline) strain on the old shunt. It's exceedingly unpleasant and will of course only get worse if I continue bodybuilding, which is something I really, really enjoy (particularly as the shunt understandably prevents the playing of contact sports, so it's one major form of exercise I can still do!). I have already resolved not to take "you're just going to have to give it up" as an answer.
The way I see it, there are three potential options here.
1: Live with the discomfort and the ongoing worry that one day if my pecs get much bigger, the shunt will snap. Don't know what the consequences of this would be since it's blocked and defunct, but given that we don't know
where the blockage is, that could easily lead to a CSF leak in my chest. Doesn't sound like a good thing.
2: Convince my neuro to remove the old shunt. I was thinking that even if it's too dangerous to remove the portion of it which goes from the brain to the valve, might it be possible just to remove the lower end (valve to abdomen) and close off the end of the valve so as it won't leak? Is this something that anyone has heard of, or had done themselves?
3: Extent the lower portion of the old shunt. Can this be done, and again has anyone here had it done? As in, take the section which goes into the abdomen and make it longer, such that expanding upper body muscles won't cause any stress and it will simply use up some of its spare length?
Any info at all would be appreciated.
I know many will probably tell me that I should just give up on the bodybuilding altogether, but for a wide variety of psychological reasons I really, really don't want to do this. I went to a school where rugby was the main sport played and to this day, the insecurity of having a very average body compared to the gym heads I hung out with is still a massive motivator for me. The bodybuilding gives me a confidence which I know I couldn't replace, so as I say I'll only give it up if someone tells me "it's either give up bodybuilding or face certain death in the next few years". It's that important to me, which I know might sound silly, but there it is
Any advice or insights?